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Just a couple of thoughts, but (1) truly "great" people, visionaries if you will, present more of a threat to those entrenched in the status quo; and (2) perhaps we idealize martyrs so they appear greater than they really are. I think the second needs no further explanation.
Regarding the first, though, I think that people who have a vested interested in the status quo are those with some amount of power/influence and those that have that power/influence to lose; generally the most dangerous of enemies. Generally, someone who continues to repress a traditionally repressed population has less to fear because they are threats to people without power and/or people with little to lose. However, someone who is looking to shake up the system and redistribute some form of power/influence is inherently threatening those who can do the most about it. It's the difference between leading a cow to slaughter and cornering a mother bear.
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"The courts that first rode the warhorse of virtual representation into battle on the res judicata front invested their steed with near-magical properties." ~27 F.3d 751
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